Tang Changsheng took out a vibrant green Spirit Medicine from his space, and immediately, a refreshing fragrance filled the private room, invigorating the mind and making one's Soul feel as if it had sublimated.
Manager Wu's spirit was instantly roused; his eyes widened, staring intently at the Spirit Medicine, and he excitedly exclaimed, "This old man never imagined he would see such a perfect Divine Soul Flower, and a High Grade, Tier 3 Divine Soul Flower at that!"
Seeing Manager Wu's expression, Tang Changsheng's heart tightened, fearing the Hundred Treasures Pavilion might try to snatch it and silence him.
Afterward, he thought of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's reputation and relaxed, steadying his mind before asking, "Manager Wu, what is the value of this High Grade, Tier 3 Divine Soul Flower?"
Manager Wu regained his composure and said, "Fellow Daoist, where did you obtain this Divine Soul Flower?" As soon as he spoke, Manager Jin, who was beside him, coughed, and Manager Wu immediately realized his mistake.
Tang Changsheng calmly sipped his Spirit Tea, and Manager Wu quickly asked, somewhat embarrassed, "Daoist Ye, are you looking to sell this Divine Soul Flower? Our Hundred Treasures Pavilion is willing to purchase it at a high price."
Tang Changsheng said expressionlessly, "Of course, but how many Spirit Stones can your Hundred Treasures Pavilion offer?"
Manager Wu and Manager Jin secretly discussed through a Soul message.
After a moment, Manager Wu spoke, "This Divine Soul Flower is preserved so perfectly; it can enhance the Divine Soul of Cultivators below the Soul Transformation Realm by one to two levels, so its preciousness is self-evident."
"Daoist Ye," he continued, "Our Hundred Treasures Pavilion is sincere and willing to offer 150,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and ten bottles of High Grade, Tier 2 Medicinal Pills to purchase the Divine Soul Flower."
Tang Changsheng shook his head, argued his case, and finally settled on a high price of 200,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and fifteen bottles of High Grade, Tier 2 Medicinal Pills.
Manager Jin handed Tang Changsheng a Storage Pouch containing 180,000 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and 200,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
"Although a Medium Grade Storage Pouch only costs 5,000 Spirit Stones, this gesture pleased Tang Changsheng, and he marveled at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion's business acumen."
Both the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and Tang Changsheng obtained what they desired, and for a time, both were immensely pleased.
Tang Changsheng took the opportunity to propose buying resources, which made Manager Jin's eyes light up.
Immediately, Tang Changsheng stood up and followed Manager Jin out of the private room. Manager Wu looked at Tang Changsheng's young back and thought to himself, "A child around twelve years old, possessing a Qi Condensation ninth-layer Cultivation, with a solid foundation and abundant magical power, must be a disciple of some prominent Family."
"More importantly, he can produce a Divine Soul Flower, such a rare and hard-to-find Spirit Medicine. Why would they let a half-grown boy like him go out for experience? Aren't they afraid he might perish midway?"
Manager Wu shook his head, put away the Divine Soul Flower, and left the private room.
Tang Changsheng never expected that his disguise would be seen through by Manager Wu, who even mistook him for a disciple of a prominent Family.
Tang Changsheng followed Manager Jin to the first-floor hall and presented a list:
Ten each of Foundation Establishment Talismans: Golden Sword Talisman, Purification Talisman, Lightning Talisman, and Invisibility Talisman.
One hundred High Grade, Tier 1 Fireball Talismans, one hundred Five Elements Mutual Generation and Restriction Talismans, one hundred High Grade, Tier 1 Adamantine Talismans, ten High Grade, Tier 1 Illusion Talismans, and one hundred Spirit Gathering Talismans.
He also wanted to buy Tier 3 versions of the High Grade, Tier 2 Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array and the High Grade, Tier 2 Five Elements Formation, but those would require a trip to a larger Market. There were also some Medicinal Pills to improve Cultivation… He already had Cultivation Techniques in his mind, so there was no need to buy them.
"High Grade, Tier 2 Talismans: Golden Sword Talisman, 2,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones each; Purification Talisman, 1,500 each; Lightning Talisman, 3,000 Spirit Stones each; High Grade, Tier 2 Invisibility Talisman, 3,000 Spirit Stones each."
"High Grade, Tier 1 Fireball Talisman, 300 Spirit Stones each; Five Elements Mutual Generation and Restriction Talisman, 300 Spirit Stones each; Adamantine Talisman, 500 Spirit Stones each; Illusion Talisman, 600 each…."
"The High Grade, Tier 2 Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array cost 90,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and the High Grade, Tier 2 Five Elements Formation cost 110,000 Spirit Stones, plus some other Medicinal Pills and seeds."
These Cultivation resources cost Tang Changsheng 551,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Manager Jin, with a smile, rounded down the total, so he only had to pay 500,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
A full 500,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones just vanished, making Tang Changsheng's heart ache.
The Hundred Treasures Pavilion presented him with a VIP Platinum Card, offering a 10% discount on all future purchases at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, which provided Tang Changsheng with some comfort.
Tang Changsheng exclaimed, "Cultivation is hard! Harder than ascending to the heavens!"
Manager Jin, seizing the opportunity, chimed in, "Indeed! Cultivation is truly too difficult!"
Tang Changsheng put all the purchased Cultivation resources into his Storage Pouch and bid farewell to Manager Jin.
Manager Jin, with a smiling face, escorted Tang Changsheng to the entrance of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and said, "Fellow Daoist, in the future, if you need to buy resources, please come to my Hundred Treasures Pavilion. I will give you a 10% discount."
Tang Changsheng nodded, turned, walked out of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, and disappeared into the crowd.
What he didn't know was that he was being targeted.
A middle-aged Cultivator bumped into Tang Changsheng as he passed by, scattering a colorless and odorless trace of Myriad Miles Fragrance.
The middle-aged Cultivator quickly apologized. Tang Changsheng's internal alarm bells rang loudly, but his expression remained calm as water, and he continued to browse.
Thus, Tang Changsheng wandered through the streets and alleys of Sunset Glow Market, incidentally buying some records of the Cultivation World's geography and culture, and various miscellaneous notes.
"By evening, Tang Changsheng found a restaurant and ordered many Medium Grade, Tier 1 Yao Beast dishes. Soon, the waiter served all the dishes, and a fragrant aroma filled the private room."
Tang Changsheng looked at the table full of colorful, fragrant, and delicious dishes, swallowed, and dismissed the waiter.
He picked up a bowl of Spirit Rice; the grains of Spirit Rice in the bowl were plump and as large as peanuts, looking very appetizing.
Tang Changsheng eagerly picked up his chopsticks, scooped a mouthful of Spirit Rice into his mouth, and his eyes lit up. "This Spirit Rice is too delicious!"
"The Spirit Rice was sweet, soft, and glutinous, melting in his mouth and transforming into a warm current that entered his abdomen. Tang Changsheng then picked up a piece of Yao Beast meat to taste. The meat was fresh and delicious, and he ate large mouthfuls without regard for his image."
Half an hour later, Tang Changsheng, still unsatisfied, licked his tongue, patted his round belly, shook his head, and began to meditate.
The next morning, as Tang Changsheng was leaving Sunset Glow Market, a middle-aged man at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation and two other Qi Condensation Loose Cultivators stealthily followed him.
Tang Changsheng used a light-body technique and ran for over thirty li.
Suddenly, three Flying Swords flew out from ahead, stabbing towards Tang Changsheng.
Tang Changsheng involuntarily shivered, quickly took out a High Grade, Tier 1 Adamantine Talisman, injected his magical power, and his body was enveloped in a faint golden light shield.
He took out the top-tier, Tier 1 precious sword he had refined last night. Just as the Flying Swords were about to reach him, they struck the light shield and were repelled.
Looking in the direction from which the Flying Swords had come, Tang Changsheng saw one of the Cultivators was the same middle-aged man who had bumped into him yesterday afternoon. He immediately understood that he had been careless.
Seeing these three, Tang Changsheng, without hesitation, took out five or six High Grade, Tier 1 Fireball Talismans from his Storage Pouch, injected his magical power, transforming them into dozens of fireballs, and attacked the three Loose Cultivators.
"The middle-aged man, seeing that his first attack had failed, was about to launch his next attack with the other two when he saw dozens of fire attacks coming towards him. He was terrified, had no time to resist, and was burned to ashes by the fireballs."
Seeing this scene, Tang Changsheng was not afraid; instead, he was quite satisfied.
He thought about the power of these High Grade, Tier 1 Fireball Talismans: "There's nothing Spirit Stones can't solve. If there is, it just means there aren't enough Spirit Stones."
"Tang Changsheng later became the Cultivator Ye Duoduo, whose name everyone would dread. Whenever he fought, he would throw out large amounts of Talismans and numerous defensive and offensive High Grade Magical Artifacts, making him virtually unassailable. Of course, this is a story for later."
Tang Changsheng walked forward to collect the items dropped by the three men, couldn't help but grumble, "They're so damn poor!" He quickly left, as the recent fight had caused a considerable commotion, fearing it might attract other Cultivators.
He didn't know that he was being watched.